Load packer for truck body



Dec. 20, 1960 s. v. BowLEs LOAD PAOKER FOR TRUCK BODY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed OCb. 1, 1957 INVENTOR .5A/nuez. 1./ 50u/5 @mZ/2% Dec. 20, 1960 s.v. BowLEs LOAD PACKER FOR TRUCK BODY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. l, 1957INVENTOR.

' HYDRAULIC RESERVO IQ nited States Patent LOAD PACKER FOR TRUCK BODYSamuel V. Bowles, 12039 Branford, Sun Valley, Calif.

Filed Oct. 1, 1957, Ser. No. 687,506

11 Claims. (Cl. 214-518) This invention relates generally to trucksutilized for the collection and transportation of compressible material,and more particularly to an improved load packer for loading and packingcompressible material such as refuse into the body of a truck.

Self-loading trucks of the type represented generally by the disclosurein my Patent No. 2,784,853, issued March l2, 1957, and entitledSelf-Loading Truck, have greatly facilitated the collection of refuseand similar materials. Such trucks utilized power operated loaders whichhoist the material being collected from the ground into the truck bodythus eliminating the slow, laborious manual methods formerly used. Tofurther mechanize the collection of such materials which arecompressible in nature and to more fully utilize the advantages providedby the above-mentioned loaders, load packers are now used to compressthe material in the trucks body after it is loaded, thus increasing theload capacity. Conventional load packers are also designed to move thematerial after it has been loaded into the body so that an enclosed bodywith an opening at one end for receiving the material can be used. Thisis quite helpful in preventing the loaded material from blowing out ofthe truck during transportation.

Although several different types of load packers are presentlyavailable, none prior to this invention has been completelysatisfactory. The principal diiculty with these prior load packers isthat they are considerably more complex and expensive than necessary.Also, they do not function as electively as desirable, and requireconsiderable manual assistance and frequent shut-downs for adjustment.

The most common of presently used load packers has a blade disposedvertically in the truck body which is moved longitudinally to compressthe material against the end of the body. Usually, this blade issupported by the sides of the body and is moved by power means attachedto its side edges. In such installations, the blade has a tendency tocant with respect to the sides of the body and jam when the loaddistribution on the blade becomes unbalanced.

Furthermore, in many installations of the aforementioned type, the bladedesign and mounting is such that the blade may not be carried suicientlyclose to the side walls and bottom of the body to prevent the by-pass ofmaterial. Material therefore leaks past the blade during packing andcollects on the wrong side. This interferes with the blades operationand requires that the packer be frequently shut down to permit removalof the bypassed material.

Another disadvantage found in packers prior to this invention arises inthose installations which utilize a dump body truck for unloading thecompressed material. Since it is impractical in most applications tomake the blade travel the full length of the body, the blade can only beused to force the loaded material part way out of the body duringunloading. As a result when loads are tightly packed in the body, theyoften become so rrnly wedged that the force of gravity provided by theusual dump body is not sufficient to fully dump the load withoutconsiderable manual assistance.

It is therefore a major object of this invention to provide a truck forthe collection of compressible material with a load packer which issimply and inexpensively constructed and yet quite effective inoperation.

It is also an important object of this invention to provide a truck forthe collection of compressible material with a load packer and a dumptype body which cooperate to automatically release a wedged load upondumping.

It is another object of this invention to provide a truck of the typedescribed with a load packer which has a blade that moves reciprocallyin the trucks body and is so mounted as to allow a slight amount ofcanting for ilexibility in operation but to prevent excessive cantingwhich would result in jamming.

A further object of this invention is to provide a truck with a loadpacker of the type described which has its packer blade disposed in suchclosely spaced relationship with the Walls and bottom of the truck lbodythat the bypass of material during packing is reduced to a minimum.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a truck with a loadpacker of the type described above in which the blade is supportedprincipally on the bottom of the truck body and is guided by the sidewalls of the body.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description of presently preferred forms of myinvention when read together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view of a self-loading dump truckembodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional plan view taken on line 2 2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional plan view of a portion of the sidewalls shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional elevational view taken on line 4-4 in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional elevational view taken on line 5-5 in Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a schematic view of the hydraulic system used to power theload packer in my invention;

Figure 7 is a sectional plan view similar to Figure 2 of a slightlymodified form of my invention; and

Figure 8 is an elevational view showing the truck of Figure 1 with thebody in its dump position.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to Figure l thereof, thenumeral 1l) designates a self-loading truck having a body 11 and a cab12. The body 11 has a rear portion 13 which is covered by a top 14 andhas two hinged doors 15 which form the rear wall. Vertical ribs 16 areprovided on the rear portion side walls 17 to prevent the walls frombulging outwardly when material is packed between them. The body 11 alsohas an open-topped front portion 18 with parallel side walls 19 whichextend forwardly of the rear portion 13 up to and over the cab 12.

A front loader 2li is mounted on the truck 10 in such a position that itcan load material into the body through the open top. The loader 20 hastwo parallel arms 21 which have their proximal ends pivotally attachedto the truck and are simultaneously movable from a generally horizontalto a generally vertical position by hy-` draulic cylinders 22. The arms21 when disposed in their horizontal position extend forwardly of thetruck iii and have offset portions 23 which position them out of the wayof the trucks front wheels 24. A bracket 25 is pivotally mounted betweenthe distal ends 26 of the arms 21 by leg portions 27 and has outwardlyextending tapered lingers 28 disposed at right angles to the legportions. Hydraulic cylinders 29 are mounted on the arms 21 near theirdistal ends 26 and connected to ears 30 on the leg portions 27 in such amanner that operation of the cylinders causes bracket 25 to pivot withrespect to arms 21.

A bucket 31 suitable for collecting refuse or other compressiblematerial is releasably held on the bracket 25 by'means of U-shaped bands32 which engage the ngers28.

To load compressible material into the front body portion 18, the bucket31 is engaged by the bracket 25 when the arms 21 are in their horizontalposition. The arms 21 are then swung to their vertical position byhydraulic cylinders 22 and the bracket 25 is pivoted with respect to thearms by hydraulic cylinders 29 to dump the contents of the bucket intothe front body portion 18. After dumping, the bucket 31 is returned tothe ground and released from bracket 25.

To prevent the wind from blowing the contents of the bucket 31 away fromthe truck body while it is being dumped, shields 33 are provided whichextend above the top 14 and the side walls 19 of front body portion 18,and have tapered leading edges 34 to avoid interference with the distalends 26 of arms 21.

To pack material after it has been dumped into the front portion 18 ofthe body 11, the truck 10 is equipped with a load packer 411 (seeFigures 2 through 5). The load packer 40 has a blade 41 which extendsbetween the sides 19 of front body portion 18 and is rollingly supportedon the bottom of the body. The blade 41 is disposed generally verticallybut has its upper edge 4Z tilted slightly toward the front of the truckso that lower edge 43 leads when the blade is moved rearwardly. To helpsupport the blade 41 and maintain lower edge 43 in closely spacedrelationship from the bottom of body 11, rollers 44 are provided on thelower portion of the blade which engage and travel on tracks 45 disposedon the bottom of body 11. The rollers 44 are protected from the materialbeing packed by means of cover guards 46.

The blade 41 is normally positioned adjacent the for ward wall of frontbody portion 1S so that material dumped into the body falls rearwardlythereof. Therefore, when the blade is moved rearwardly, it carries thematerial in front body portion 1% with it and packs this material intothe rear body portion 13.

To drive the blade 41 rearwardly, two hydraulic actuators 47 areprovided. The actuators each comprise a double acting hydraulic cylindercarrying a conventional piston, the connecting rods of the pistons beingconnected one to each side of the blade by guide means 4S. Each of theguide means 48 consists of a plate 49 which carries two rollers, aforward roller t) and a rearward roller 51. The plate 49 is disposedvertically and positioned adjacent the inside of each side wall 19 offront body portion 18 and the rollers 50 and 51 are carried rotatably onpins 53 which extend horizontally outward from the plates. The pins 53have shoulders 53a which bear against the rollers to space themhorizontally from plate 49 and threaded portions 53h which extendoutwardly of the rollers, each carrying a nut and washer 53C to retainthe rollers on the pins. Elongated horizontal openings 54 are providedin the side walls 19 to permit the pins 53 and the rollers 5@ and 51carried thereon to extend therethrough.

.To support the two plates 49 on the side walls 19. yangles 55areprovided on each side wall 19 above and below the opening 54. These.angles 55 carry longitudinal tracks 56 which are so disposed that theyproject into the opening 54. The rollers 5t! and 51 are hanged at 58 toguidingly engage the tracks 56. The rollers 50 and 51 are thereforeconstrained to horizontal travel between angles 55 and in engagementwith the tracks 56.

To attach the plates 49 to the blade 41, hinge means are provided andinclude horizontally directed iianges 60 on the upper and lower edges ofeach plate. The anges 60 have aligned holes 61 therethrough whichreceive a vertically disposed pin 62. The blade 41 has a recess 4 63formed in each lateral edge adjacent the plate 49 which recess containshorizontally disposed outwardly extending ears 64 spaced apart so as tocontact and fit between the flanges 60. The ears 64 are bored at 65 inalignment with the holes 61 through the flanges 60. ri`he bores 65 andholes 61 receive a pin 62 forming a hinge connection between the blade41 and plate 49. Cotter pins 68 are also provided to secure the pin 62in place.

From the above description of the mounting of plate 49 and the hingeconnection between plate 49 and blade 41, it will be understood thatalthough the plates 49, which are connected to each end of the blade 41,can move only parallel to the side walls 19 because of the engagementbetween the rollers 50 and 51 and their tracks 56, a limited amount ofrelative swinging movement between blade 41 and the plates 49 is allowedby the hinge connection. This swinging movement permits slight shifts inthe blades position without stressing the guide means 48.

Each plate 49 is connected to one of the actuators 47 by means of aconnector 7i). Each connector includes an outwardly extending bracket 71secured to the respective plate 49 and a rearwardly extending arm 72pivotally connected by a pin 74 to a clevis 7S mounted on the outer endof the respective piston rod 76.

The piston rods 76 connect to conventional pistons which are carried incylinders 82 of the hydraulic actuators 47 and move slidably in sleevebearings 73 and 79 mounted on the side walls 17 and 19. rlhe cylinders82 are mounted inside the rear body portion 13 on mounting plates S3attached to the side walls 17 and offset walls 81.

Since the portions of the piston rods 76 which extend forwardly of theoifset walls 81, the connector 70, and the rollers 50 and 51 are exposedon the outside of the side walls 19, a U-shaped cover 85 is provided toenclose these parts. Each of the covers 85 is attached by a hinge 86 tothe angle 55 above the opening 54 and by screws 37 to the angle 55 belowthe opening 54. The cover 85 may be swung open on the hinge 86 when thescrews 87 are removed.

As previously explained, the packer blade 41 is normally positionedadjacent the front wall of body 11 so that material dumped into the bodyfrom bucket l31 falls rearwardly of the blade. To pack the dumpedmaterial the blade 41 is moved rearwardly by the hydraulic actuators47', pressure iluid being admitted at the forward ends of the cylinders82 for this purpose.

As the pistons and the piston rods 76 are thus forced rearwardly theycarry with them the plates 49, to which they are connected, therebycausing the plates 49 and rollers 56 and 51 to travel rearwardly alongthe tracks 56.

Since the plates 49 are connected to the blade 41 at each side edge, theblade is carried rearwardly with the plates, the supporting rollers 44on its lower portion rolling along the tracks 45. As the blade 41 ismoved rearwardly in this manner, it pushes the dumped materialrearwardly and packs it with any material already stored.

To energize the hydraulic actuators 47, I provide a hydraulic system 96which has a pump 92 driven from the truck transmission 93. The pump 92is supplied from a hydraulic reservoir 94 and pumps duid into a linehaving a four-way valve 95. The valve 95 is controlled from the cab ofthe truck and when disposed in a pack" position, it connects the pump 92to a forward port '96 in each of the cylinders 82, and connects rearwardports 97 thereof to the hydraulic reservoir 94. With this c onnectionthe pump 92 forces hydraulic uid into the forward ends of cylinders 82and drives their pistons rearwardly causing the hydraulic fluid in therearward portions of the cylinders to be discharged through -the ports97 and returned to the hydraulic reservoir 94. As Vthe pistonsnoverearwardly,` they carry the piston rods .76 and the'blade 41 withthem as previously described.

To reverse the hydraulic system 90 and drive the blade 41 forwardly inthe truck body to return it to its original position, the valve 95 isswitched to a return position. In its return position the valve 95connects the pump 92 to rearward ports 97 of the cylinders 82, andconnects forward ports 96 to the hydraulic reservoir 94. With thisconnection, pump 92 forces hydraulic fluid into the rearward ports 97and drives their pistons forwardly causing the hydraulic uid in theforward portions of the cylinders to discharge through the forward ports96 and return to the hydraulic reservoir 94.

To prevent the material being packed from by-passing the blade 41,outwardly projecting flanges 88 are provided on the side edges of theblades rearward face. The flanges 88 extend into closely spacedrelationship with the side walls 19, and with the plates 49 at thepoints where they are connected to the blade 41. The bottom edge 43 ofblade 41 is positioned quite closely to the bottom of body 11 and heldin this closely spaced relationship by the rollers 44 as previouslyexplained, thus preventing material from by-passing the blade on thebottom.

From the above description of the operation of my load packer it will beunderstood that although a slight swinging of the blade is permitted bythe hinge connection between plate 49 and blade 41, excessive swingingwill jam the guide means 48 and force the anges 88 into side walls 19thereby preventing the movement of the blade 41. A significant unbalanceof the distribution of dumped material with respect to blade 41 will puta greater load on one of the hydraulic actuators 47 than on the otherand thereby tend to cause such excessive swinging.

To prevent this and cause blade 41 to travel in body 11 with relativelypure translatory movement, I provide a displacement equalizer 91 in thehydraulic system 90. The equalizer 91 assures that equal amounts offluid are pumped into and out of the ports 96 of each of hydrauliccylinders 82 so that regardless of the distribution of load on blade 41,one of the hydraulic cylinders cannot move its side of the blade agreater distance than the other.

To achieve the foregoing result it is desired that whenever one edge ofthe blade tends to run ahead of the other, part of the force applied tothat edge be transferred to the other. For this purpose a pair of gearpumps 98 and 99 each adapted to serve as a motor when necessary, areconnected in the hydraulic lines of the respective actuators 47 andthese two pump-motors are drivingly interconnected to form the equalizer91. The pumpmotors 98 and 99 are connected into the hydraulic system 90as a ow divider so that when the valve 95 is in its pack position, fluidfrom pump 92 ows by means of a divided or forked line through each ofthe pump-motors and thence to the forward ports 96 of the respectivehydraulic cylinders 82. The pump-motors 98 and 99 are mechanicallyconnected by a shaft 100 so that they both move at the same speed. Sincegear pumps and motors are of the positive displacement type, it isimpossible with this arrangement for the pump-motor 98 to pass morehydraulic fluid into the left hand cylinder 82 than the pump-motor 99passes into the right hand cylinder. Therefore, as the actuators 47drive the blade 41 rearwardly an equal amount of fluid is supplied toeach of the cylinders 82 regardless of the distribution of load on theblade.

When the valve 95 is in its return position, the pump-motors 98 and 99are connected between the forward ports 96 of the left hand and righthand hydraulic cylinders 82 respectively, and the hydraulic reservoir94. With this connection the equalizer 91 operates in reverse and thepump-motors 98 and 99 equalize the discharge of uid from the forwardports 96 of the respective cylinders. The equalizing elect in thisarrangement is brought about by the fact that it is impossible to forcemore fluid out of one cylinder 47 than out of the other because of thepositive displacement characteristics mentioned above.

To dump a load of material packed in the body 11, the doors 15 areopened and the body is tilted into its dump position, as shown in Figure8. The load packer blade 41 is then driven rearwardly to start the loadsliding out. Since blade 41 cannot move all the way to the rear of body11, it can only start the packed load and the force of gravity must bedepended on to carry it on out of the body. When the load is tightlypacked against the side Iwalls of the body, gravity is often notsufficient for this purpose. In my body, however, the side walls areoffset at the rearmost point of travel of the blade 41 so that the sidewalls 17 of the rear body portion 13 are wider apart than the side walls19 of front body portion 18. Therefore, when the load has been forcedrearwardly in the truck body 11 as far as possible by blade 41, theprincipal portion of the load remaining in the truck is narrower thanthe rear body portion 13 because it was originally packed between thenarrower side walls 19 of front body portion 18. In this condition,little if any of the load is compressed against the side walls and theforce of gravity is sufiicient to carry it on out of the truck.

In Figure 7, I have shown a modified form of my invention in which abody is provided which consists of a front body portion 111, similar tofront body portion 18 of my first embodiment, and a rear body portion113 with side walls 114 that taper outwardly in a rearward direction. Aload packer `112 is provided with a blade 115 which, in this form, ismounted on wheels 116 which run on tracks 117 on the bottom of body 110and is carried at its side by guide plates 118 which move on rollers119. The guide plates 118 are connected by connectors 120 to piston rods121, which are motivated by hydraulic actuators 122. The hydraulicactuators 122 are attached at their rear ends to the rear of rear bodyportion 113 and at their forward ends, extend outside of body 110 andparallel to the side walls of front body portion 111. The body 110 inthis second embodiment is also a dump body and blade 115 movesrearwardly only the distance of the front body portion 111. The taperedwalls 114 of rear body portion 113, however, permit a packed load to becarried out of the body by the force of gravity after it has been pushedpart way out by blade 115 because the remaining portion of the load isno longer compressed against the side walls.

While the forms of my invention herein shown and described are fullycapable of achieving the objects and providing the advantages hereinstated, it is to be understood that they are primarily illustrative ofpresently preferred embodiments of my invention, and that I do not meanto limit myself to the particular details specified other than asdefined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A truck for collecting loose material comprising: a body having anopen-topped portion for receiving said material as loaded and anenclosed portion for transporting said material; a blade disposedgenerally vertical in said body and normally positioned adjacent saidtop open* ing at the side opposite said enclosed portion; track androller means disposed between the bottom of said body and the bottomedge of said blade for movably supporting said blade in said body inclosely spaced relationship with said bottom; guide means attached tothe vertical edges of said blade and movably mounted in the sides ofsaid open-topped body portion for guiding said blade when the same isactuated for movement from said normal position across said open-toppedportion to said enclosed portion and back again; hinge means connectingsaid guide means to said blade which allow limited swinging movement ofsaid blade with respect to said guide means about a generally verticalaxis; and hydraulically operated power means connected to said guidemeans for actuating said blade as aforesaid whereby to pack materialdisposed in said open-topped portion into said enclosed portion, saidpower means having equalizer means which assures equal movement of eachof said guide means regardless of the distribution of load on saidblade.

2. A truck for collecting compressible material which includes: a bodyhaving an open-topped front portion and an enclosed portion; a bladedisposed generally vertical in said body and normally positionedadjacent said top opening at the Side opposite said enclosed portion;track and roller means disposed between the bottom of said body and thebottom edge of said blade for movably supporting said blade in saidbody; guide means attached to the vertical edges of said blade andmovably mounted in the Sides of said open-topped body portion forguiding said blade from said normal position across said open-toppedportion to said enclosed portion and back again; and power means mountedon said body for powering said blade movement whereby to pack materialdisposed in said open-topped portion into said enclosed portion and toreturn said blade to said normal position, said power means including apair of reciprocating hydraulic force applying elements, respectivelyattached to opposite edges of said blade, a single source of pressurehydraulic fluid and power dividing means interposed between said sourceand force applying elements to equalize the rate of blade movement awayfrom said normal position whereby to effect relatively pure translatorymotion of said blade during said packing of material.

3. A truck for collecting compressible material which includes: a bodyhaving an open-topped portion and an enclosed portion; a blade disposedin said body and normally positioned adjacent said top opening at theside opposite said enclosed portion; guide means attached to twooppositely disposed sides of said blade and movably mounted in saidopen-topped portion for guiding said blade from said normal positionacross said open-topped portion to said enclosed portion and back again;hinge means connecting said guide means to said blade which allowlimited pivotal movement of said blade with respect to said guide means;and power means connected to said guide means for powering said blademovement whereby to pack material disposed in said open-topped portioninto said enclosed portion, said power means having an equalizer whichassures equal movement of the sides of said blade attached to said guidemeans regardless of the distribution of load on said blade.

4. A truck for collecting compressible material which includes: a bodyhaving an open-topped portion and an enclosed portion; a blade disposedgenerally vertical in said body and normally adjacent said top openingat the side opposite said enclosed portion; track and roller meansdisposed between the bottom of said body and the bottom edge of saidblade for movably supporting said blade in said body in closely spacedrelationship to said bottom; guide plates disposed parallel tooppositely disposed walls of said body; guide rollers mounted on said'guide plates; guide tracks mounted on said Voppositely disposed wallsof said vbody and engaged by said guide rollers to permit movement ofsaid Yguide plates with respect to said oppositely disposed body walls,said guide tracks extending from the normal position of saidblade tosaid enclosed portion; hinge means connecting said guide plates tovertically disposed edges of said blade, said hinge means having agenerally vertical axis and permitting limited pivotal movement of saidblade with respect to said guide plates about said axis; a pair' ofhydraulic actuators mounted on said body and each connected to one ofsaid guide plates, said actuators being operable to move said guideplates on said guide tracks by means of said guide rollers and therebycarry said blade vfrom said normal position across said open-toppedportion to said enclosed portion vand back again; and equalizerr meansopera'iiveiy' associated with said -hydraulic actuators for equalizingthe flow of hydraulicfluid to said actuators thereby assuring equalmovement of said guide plates regardless of the load distribution onsaid blade.

5. A truck for collecting compressible material which includes: a bodyhaving a front wall, a rear wall and generally parallel side walls whichform an open-topped body portion at the front end for receiving saidmaterial and an enclosed portion at the rear end for storing saidmaterial, said rear wall Vbeing openable to permit dumping, and saidside walls having offsets between said portions whereby said enclosedportion is wider than said open-topped portion; a blade disposedgenerally vertical in said open-topped body portion generally normal toand extending between said parallel side walls and normally positionedadjacent said front wall, said blade being tilted forwardly upward andhaving flanges on the generally vertical edges of its rearwardlydirected face which extend into a closely spaced relationship with saidside walls; linearly movable support means for supporting said blade insaid body in closely spaced relationship to said bottom; guide platesdisposed inside said opentopped portion parallel to and closely adjacentsaid side wals, said guide plates being attached to the vertical edgesof said blade forwardly of said flanges; elongated longitudinallydisposed side openings in the side walls of said open-topped portionextending from said front wall to said offsets; guide tracks disposedabove and below each of said side openings and extending the lengththereof; a pair of fore and aft guide rollers mounted on each of saidguide plates which project through said side openings and engage saidguide tracks for travel thereon with said fore rollers disposed forwardof said blade and said aft rollers disposed rearward of said blade, saidguide rollers being contained between said guide tracks and havingradial llanges which engage side surfaces of said guide tracks tomaintain said rollers in alignment with said tracks and said guideplates parallel to said side walls during said travel; hinge meansconnecting said guide plates to the vertically disposed edges of saidblade, said hinge means having a generally vertical axis and permittinglimited pivotal movement of said blade with respect to said guide platesabout said axis; a pair of hydraulic actuators mounted inside saidenclosed body portion, one adjacent each of said side walls and attachedto and extending rearward of said olsets, said hydraulic actuators eachincluding cylinders with pistons having rods extending forwardly of saidoisets outside and parallel to the side walls of said open-toppedportion; means connecting said pistons to said guide plates; a hydrauliccontrol system powered by said truck for actuating said hydraulicactuators to reciprocally move said pistons, said system having acontrol valve which when disposed in a pack position directs hydraulicfluid to the front of said cylinders and drives said pistons rearwardlythereby carrying said blade from its normal position rearwardly to saidoisets, and when disposed in a return position directs hydraulic fluidto the rear of said cylinders and drives said pistons forwardly therebyreturning said blade to said normal position; an equalizer in saidhydraulic system and including two mechanically interconnected gearpumps, one connected in the supply lines of each of said cylinderswhereby one of said cylinders is prevented from moving its piston agreater distance than the other and thereby preventing excessive cantingof said blade with respect to the side walls of said open-topped portionregardless of the distribution of load on said blade; and dump means forraising 4 the forward end of said body with respect to the rear end tourge said material therein rearwardly by force of gravity.

6. A truck for collecting compressible material which includes: a bodyhaving a front wall, a rear wall and generally parallel side walls whichforman open-topped portion at the front end for receiving said materialand an enclosed portion at the rear end for holding said material duringtransit, said rear wall being openable to permit dumping, and said sidewalls having offsets between said portions providing said enclosedportion of a width greater than said open topped portion; a packer bladedisposed generally vertical in said open-topped portion generally normalto and extending between said parallel side walls and normallypositioned adjacent said front wall; reciprocally movable mounting meansfor mounting said blade in said open-topped portion in closely spacedrelationship to the bottom and side walls thereof; power means mountedon said body and connected to said blade to move said blade from saidnormal position across said open-topped portion to said offsets and backagain; and dump means for raising the front end of said body withrespect to the rear end to urge material dislodged by the motion of saidpacker blade rearwardly by force of gravity, said packer blade therebycoacting with the tilting of said body to unload compressed materialtherefrom.

7. A truck for collecting compressible material which includes: anenclosed body having an opening at the top front end thereof forreceiving said material and a separate opening for discharging saidmaterial; a blade disposed in said body and normally positioned adjacentthe end near said opening, said blade being disposed generallyperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said body and extending intoclosely spaced relationship with the walls thereof; reciprocally movablemounting means for mounting said blade in said body for longitudinalmovement; a pair of hydraulic actuators mounted on said body and havingcylinders containing pistons with rods extending parallel to thelongitudinal axis of said body and connected to the periphery of saidblade at substantially opposite positions; a hydraulic control systempowered by said truck for energizing said hydraulic actuators toreciprocally move said pistons in said cylinders, said system having acontrol valve which when disposed in a pack position directs hydraulicfluid into Ithe front end of said cylinders and drives said pistonsrearwardly thereby longitudinally moving said blade from its normalposition toward the end furthest from said opening and when disposed ina return position directs hydraulic uid into the rear end of saidcylinder and drives said pistons forwardly thereby returning said bladelongitudinally to said normal position; and an equalizer in saidhydraulic system and including a single source of pressure hydraulicfluid with separate supply lines to said respective cylinders, twomechanically interconnected gear pumps, one connected in the supplylines of each of said cylinders for equalizing the supply of hydraulicfluid thereto, whereby one of said cylinders is prevented from movingits piston a greater distance than the other thereby preventingexcessive swinging of said .blade with respect to said longitudinal axisregardless of the distribution of load thereon. p

8. A truck for collecting compressible material which includes: anenclosed body having a front wall, a rear wall, and side walls disposedparallel to the longitudinal axis of said body to form a front portionwith said front wall and taper rearwardly outward to form a rear portionwith said rear wall, said front portion having an opening therein at thetop for receiving said material and said rear wall being openable topermit dumping of said material; a packer blade disposed in said frontportion generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said bodyand extending into closely spaced relationship with said side walls,said blade being normally positioned adjacent said front wall;reciprocally movable mounting means for mounting said blade in saidbody; power means mounted on said body and connected to said blade, saidpower means being operable to move said blade longitudinally in saidbody from said normal position through said front portion to said rearportion and back again; and dump means for positioning the front of saidbody upwardly with respect to the rear to urge material dislodged by themotion of said packer blade rearwardly by force of gravity said packerblade thereby coacting 10 with the tilting of said body to unloadcompressed material therefrom.

9. In a truck for collecting compressible material which has a body withan opening near one end, a load packer which includes: a blade disposedgenerally vertical in said body generally normal to and extendingbetween the side walls thereof and normally positioned adjacent the endnear said opening, said blade being tilted forwardly upward and havingflanges on the generally vertical edges which extend into closely spacedrelationship with said side walls; linearly movable support meansdisposed between the bottom edge of said blade and bottom of said bodyfor supporting said blade in closely spaced relationship with said bodybottom; guide plates disposed inside of said body closely adjacent saidside `walls, said guide plates being attached to each of the verticaledges of said blade forwardly of said flanges; elongated horizontallydisposed side openings in the side walls of said body extending from theend near said opening rearwardly; guide tracks disposed above and beloweach of said side openings and extending the length thereof; fore andaft guide rollers mounted on each of said guide plates which projectthrough said side openings and engage said guide tracks for travelthereon with said fore rollers disposed forward of said blade and saidaft rollers disposed rearward of said blade, said guide rollers beingcontained between said guide tracks and having radial ilanges whichengage vertical surfaces of said guide tracks to maintain said rollersin alignment with said tracks and said guide plates parallel `to saidside walls during said travel; a pair of hydraulic actuators mountedinside said body, one adjacent each of said side walls, said hydraulicactuators each including cylinders with pistons having rods extendingforwardly thereof parallel to the side walls of said body and connectedto said guide plates; and a source of pressure iluid for said actuatorssaid source including a single pump and a flow divider to equalize therates of delivery to said actuators and prevent angular movement of saidblade during the aforesaid guided movement thereof.

l0. In a truck for collecting compressible material which has anenclosed body with a front wall, a rear wall, and side walls whichparallel the longitudinal axis of said body to form a front portion withsaid front wall and a rear portion with said rear wall, a top opening insaid front portion, and a hydraulically operated loader for loadingmaterial into said opening, a load packer for packing said loadedmaterial which includes: a blade disposed in said front portion andextending between said side walls, said blade being normally positionedforwardly of said opening; guide means attached to two oppositelydisposed sides of said blade and movably mounted in said front portionfor guiding said blade from said normal position toward said rearportion and back again; hinge means connecting said guide means to saidblade which allow limited pivotal movement of said blade with respect tosaid guide means; track and roller means disposed between the bottomedge of said blade and the bottom of said body for movably supportingsaid blade in closely spaced relationship with said body bottom; andpower means connected to said guide means for powering the movement ofsaid blade as aforesaid, said power means having an equalizer mechanismwhich assures equal movement of said oppositely disposed sides of saidblade.

ll. In a truck for collecting compressible material which has anenclosed body with a front wall, an openable rear wall, and side wallswhich parallel the longitudinal axis of said body to form a frontportion with said front wall and form a rear portion with the rear wallwhich is wider than said front portion, an opening in said frontportion, dump means for positioning said front portion above said rearportion to urge material in said body rearwardly by force of gravity,and hydraulically operated loader means for loading material from infront of said truck into said opening, a load packer for packing 1l tsaid loaded material which includes: a blade disposed iu said frontportion and extending between said side walls, said blade being normallypositioned forwardly `of said opening; guide means attached to twooppositely disposed sides of said blade and movably mounted in saidfront portion for guiding said blade from said normal position towardsaid rear portion and back again; hinge means connecting said guidemeans to said blade which allow limited pivotal movement of said bladewith respect to said guide means; track and roller means disposedbetween the bottom edge of said blade and the bottom of said body formovably supporting said blade in closely spaced relationship with saidbody bottom; and power means connected tosaid guide means for poweringthe movement of said blade as aforesaid, said power means having anequalizer mechanism which assures equal movement of said oppositelydisposed sides of said blade.

References Cited in the ijle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS955,852 Coyle Apr. 26, l1910 2,047,602 Tomlinson July 14, 1'9362,342,311 Thompson Feb. 22, 1944 2,643,011 Brisson et al. June 23, 19532,652,163 Stickney Sept. 15,'1953 2,750,055 Hunes June 12, 19562,824,655 Harbers Feb. 25, 1958 2,832,488 Kamin Apr. 29, 1958

